BLIGHT. CANKER. INSECTS. 1 1 



the ends of the roots." This plan, writes Down- 

 ing, " is an admirable one for small gardens, or 

 those who wish to grow a great many sorts in a 

 small surface. Root-pruning, I think, will, in 

 this country, be most valuable in its application 

 to common standard trees, which are thrifty, but 

 bear little or no fruit Several nearly full-grown 

 peach, pear, and plum trees, on a very rich soil 

 on the Hudson, which were over-luxuriant, but 

 bore no fruit, were root pruned, by our advice, 

 two years ago, and yielded most excellent and 

 abundant crops last season." 



BLIGHT. CANKER. INSECTS. 



The injuries and diseases to which fruit trees 

 are subject, are often difficult to be accounted for, 

 and various are the methods devised for their 

 correction. 



The genus of insects called Aphis, or green 

 fly, one or more species being found upon nearly 

 all our varieties of fruit trees, particularly upon 

 those that are young, are very troublesome. 

 They lodge and live on the points of the young 

 succulent shoots, distorting the leaves and check- 

 ing the growth. Various washings, compositions, 

 and powderings, have been applied for their de- 

 struction ; among them are the following : Syr- 

 inging with tobacco water, lime water, fine air- 

 slacked lime mixed with soot, and strewed over 

 the trees in a dewy morning, burning haulm, or 

 straw sprinkled with sulphur, to windward of the 

 infected trees. These are generally considered 

 good remedies ; but the most effectual in our prac- 

 tice, of late, has been the whale oil soap mixture, 



